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Friday, July 27, 2012

Author Interview: Kat Zhang (What's Left of Me)

Hi guys! I had the pleasure to share you an interview I had with Kat Zhang, author of the upcoming young-adult dystopia novel, What's Left of Me! I'm thrilled to welcome her here since I just recently finished her book and I really enjoyed it (see my review here). And its even more thrilling to find out that she's only a year older than me and she's written such an amazing story and sold it to a very known publishing company! Amazing huh? So there, check out my interview with her below!

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

1. The originality of the book was one of the things I think made What’s Left of Me really good. How did you come up with the idea of Hybrids in this book?
I came up with the concept of hybrids when I started thinking about that little voice everyone has in the back of their head, and how sometimes in movies and such, it's portrayed as this whole other voice, and what if that voice were really another person, and what if they were stuck inside your body but couldn't actually control it...? Everything developed from that idea :)

2. Did you have a hard time writing the relationship between Addie and Eva?

Not really, actually. It took some thinking over, of course, but on the whole, their relationship came pretty naturally to me. I've always been interested in writing about sibling relationships, and Addie and Eva are even more than siblings--they're absolutely tied to each other. It was a really interesting situation to explore.

3. What are the challenges you encountered during writing your book?

The dual nature of the characters in WHAT'S LEFT OF ME was definitely a challenge--it's not often that one has to struggle with correct pronoun use and such for a body inhabited by two people! These considerations meant that even some of the most mundane scenes took a lot of thinking through.

4. Which of the characters were the most difficult to create? Which is your favorite character or the one you can relate to the most?

It did take me a little bit to really get a grasp on Addie as a character and as a voice. She's in a complicated spot, and I had to figure out just where she was coming from and how she felt about the different aspects of her life.

It's hard to say which character I related to the most, but one of my favorite characters to write is actually Dr. Lyanne.

5. How many books will there be for The Hybrid Chronicles series?

There will be three :)

This and That:

1. Past or future?

Future! I want to see how things turn out :P

2. Pants or skirt?

Pants. Skirts are nice, but pants are more practical.

3. Ice cream or cake?

Ice-cream cake!

4. Summer or winter?

Summer. I'm not a fan of the cold

5. Books or movies?

Both! I love books, of course, but I'm also a huge fan of film :)

6. Black or blonde?

Are we talking about hair color? Well, I've got black hair, so... ;)

7. Chocolate or vanilla?

Vanilla!

8. Contemporary or dystopia?

I like both very much.

9. Nice guys or bad boys?

See above ;)

10. Sleeping or eating?

Eating! Yum! (I'm an insomniac)

A big thank you to Kat Zhang for having this interview. So there, be sure to add What's Left of Me on you tbr lists. If your looking for something really original and utterly captivating, I highly recommend this book. You can check out my review here.

5 comments:

You're so lucky to have bagged an interview with Kat, Eunice <3 But I really enjoyed reading all her answers. I'm amazed that the idea was born out of the 'voice' in the back of our heads - WOW!!! And I can understand how it would be hard to write the dual perspectives, especially in the context of What's Left of Me.

Great interview Eunice and Kat! I was thinking this sounds like sisters but more intimate. I guess I was right. I love the "this and that" portion of the interview! Those are always such fun. I can't believe Kat is so young and already has a book out. Wow! :)

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About Me

Hi everyone! I'm Eunice and I'm a bookworm (obviously), a chocolateworm, a sleepworm, a foodworm, a blogworm, an internetworm. LOL!
I'm obsess with reading YA novels but adult books do pop up sometimes. ^^